After months of protests, French couple ties knot in first same-sex wedding

By Saskya Vandoorne and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

Updated 8:16 PM ET, Wed May 29, 2013

Photos: France's first same-sex marriage5 photos

France's first same-sex marriage – Vincent Autin, left, and Bruno Boileau kiss as they exchange marriage vows at City Hall in Montpellier, France, on Wednesday, May 29. The two men were the first gays to wed in France after the passage of a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. The legislation has prompted fierce opposition from many social conservatives and the Catholic Church.

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Photos: France's first same-sex marriage5 photos

France's first same-sex marriage – Autin, left, and Boileau hold hands during the ceremony. Autin, a gay rights activist, said his wedding marks a big step forward for same-sex equality.

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France's first same-sex marriage – Montpellier Mayor Helene Mandroux, right, officiates at the wedding in which hundreds of guests attended.

France's first same-sex marriage – Boileau, left, and Autin hold hands during the ceremony. Boileau said they plan to build a family together.

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Story highlights

"We want children, we want to pass down values," says Bruno Boileau

France today gives us back the equal rights we were born with, says Vincent Autin

Autin and Boileau are the first same-sex couple to marry in France

The law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt has proved highly divisive in France

The French city of Montpellier witnessed history Wednesday when its mayor officiated the nation's first same-sex wedding in front of hundreds of guests.

Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau exchanged vows at a ceremony in the southern city, watched by some 500 guests seated on brightly colored chairs.

Autin, 40, is the head of the region's Lesbian and Gay Pride association, and he says his wedding to Boileau, 30, marks a big step forward for same-sex equality.

"When French children are born into this world, they are born with the same rights as everyone else -- but from the moment you said you were a homosexual, society deprived you of some of those rights," Autin told CNN in the couple's only interview on their wedding day.

Just Watched

Open Mic: Same-sex marriage

Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Protesters stand in the street as they face riot police on Sunday, May 26, in Paris on the sidelines of demonstrations against a gay marriage law legalizing same-sex marriage and adoptions for gay couples. President Francois Hollande signed the measure into law on May 18 following months of bitter debate and demonstrations, including a suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in the name of protesting same-sex marriage.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Protesters gather and sit on the ground as riot police surround them on May 26. Tens of thousands marched through Paris today to protest the law.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Protesters stand in a cloud of tear gas on May 26.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Riot police stand in a line facing protesters on May 26.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Police clash with and arrest protesters on May 26.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Riot policemen face off with protesters on May 26.

Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Opponents of the law demonstrate in front of the headquarters of the Grand Orient de France, a Masonic order, in Paris on Friday, May 24.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – A member of the FEMEN feminist activist group with writing on her chest reading "May fascists rest in hell" is arrested by police officers after taking part in a protest at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Wednesday, May 22. The protesters were demonstrating against the suicide of a far-right activist inside the cathedral the previous day.

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Photos: Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – French police stand outside Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday, May 21, following the evacuation of the cathedral after a man shot himself dead in front of the altar. Historian and writer Dominique Venner killed himself in front of horrified tourists after denouncing same-sex marriage and immigration.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – People holding rainbow flags attend the event Concert pour tous! (Concert for all!) on May 21 at Place de la Bastille square in Paris. The concert was a countermovement in reference to the French anti-gay marriage movement Manif pour tous (Demonstration for all), and celebrated the legalization of same-sex marriage.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Bare-chested men wearing white masks, members of anti-gay group Hommen, shout slogans as they are detained in a police bus during a demonstration against a bill legalizing same-sex marriages on May 17 in Paris.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Members of groups opposing same-sex marriage gather on Thursday, May 16, in front of the Sorbonne in Paris.

Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Supporters cheer in front of the Paris City Hall on April 23. If the measure is enacted, France would be the ninth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – People unfurl a rainbow banner in Toulouse on April 23 after the lower house vote.

Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – People yell in support of the new law Sunday in Bastille Square.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – Members of the anti-gay marriage group Hommen demonstrate on Saturday, April 20, in Rennes, France. The group was created in response to Femen, a feminist group that organizes topless protests for social issues.

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Protests over France's same-sex marriage bill – The group Hommen gathers in Rennes to protest the bill on Saturday.

"We want children, we want to pass down values that are important to us, that we hold dear, that are right. And we want grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a real family," he said.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, minister of women's rights and a government spokeswoman, was among those attending the landmark ceremony, reflecting the governing Socialist Party's support for same-sex marriage. Montpellier's mayor, Helene Mandroux, also belongs to the party.

Protest marches

However, the move has prompted fierce opposition from many social conservatives and the Catholic Church, with hundreds of thousands of people joining protest marches in Paris and other cities over recent months.

While no official demonstrations were planned, there were concerns protesters would gather in Montpellier on Wednesday.

About 200 police officers were mobilized around the city in case of trouble, Montpellier police said.

Guillaume Bonnet, senior campaign manager in France for the equality group All Out, said he was honored to be a guest at the wedding on what he described as a historic day for his country.

"We have shown that if we all work together anything is possible," he said. "Now couples like Vincent and Bruno can create life full of love and family just like any other loving and committed couple."

Internationally divisive

France is the ninth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage.

If pending legislation in New Zealand and Uruguay is enacted as expected this year, the worldwide total of countries with legalized same-sex marriage will rise to 14.

Many countries remain split over the issue. A Brazilian court issued a directive this month removing a barrier that had limited same-sex marriage, but no bill has made it through Congress.

Legislators in the United Kingdom are also weighing proposals to legalize same-sex marriage. Lawmakers in Australia voted against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage last September. A poll for the advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality indicated that 64% of those surveyed "support marriage equality."

In the United States, the question went before the Supreme Court and justices are deliberating over the matter.

Twelve U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages. On the other side, many states have specific laws blocking same-sex couples from legally marrying.